Asheville Graduate Center Administration to Shift to UNC Asheville;
Center to Enhance Efforts to Meet Regional Economic Development Needs

The Asheville Graduate Center, established on the UNC Asheville campus and operated by the University of North Carolina Office of the President since 1984, will be administered by UNC Asheville’s Office of the Provost as of July 1. This organizational change will align the center’s reporting structure with that of UNC’s three other graduate centers, located at Elizabeth City State University, UNC Charlotte, and Winston-Salem State University.

“Host campuses are best positioned to administer UNC graduate centers in a manner that is most effective and most efficient in meeting needs in their regions,” said Gretchen Bataille, UNC senior vice president for academic affairs. “The direct link of the Asheville Graduate Center to UNC Asheville will allow the center to be more responsive to the unique educational and economic needs of North Carolina’s western counties.”

The Asheville Graduate Center was established at UNC Asheville, a largely undergraduate institution, to provide residents of the western part of the state access to graduate programs offered by other institutions in the 16-campus University of North Carolina. The center has worked closely with a number of sister campuses, particularly Western Carolina University, to provide graduate education opportunities. 

Enrollment in Asheville Graduate Center programs has steadily increased over the past 10 years, with headcount enrollment now topping 900.  More than 50 doctorate degrees have been awarded since 1984.

“The Office of the President is now charging UNC Asheville with the primary responsibility for selecting and facilitating the availability of graduate programs at the Asheville Graduate Center. Western Carolina University programs will continue to play an important role at the center as UNC Asheville moves ahead to identify those graduate programs across the University which can best meet the needs of residents in the western part of the state,” said Mark Padilla, UNC Asheville provost and vice chancellor for academic and student affairs.

For the 2005-06 academic year,  the Asheville Graduate Center will continue to offer a master’s degree program in social work from UNC-Chapel Hill, a master’s degree program in library and information studies from UNC Greensboro, and five tracks in North Carolina State University’s Master’s Program in Engineering. Western Carolina University will continue to offer the majority of graduate programs out of its four colleges—Applied Sciences, Art and Sciences, Business, and Education and Allied Professions. No new programs will be added for the 2005-06 academic year because the academic schedules at most UNC institutions have largely been finalized.

The 2005-06 academic year will also be one of planning and implementation for the center. One of the first steps will be to survey Asheville and the region to determine how well current programs are serving the need for graduate education and to identify new programs that should be offered within the context of regional economic development, Padilla said.

“The needs of the region will be paramount in our planning,” Padilla said. “As North Carolina transitions to a knowledge-based economy, our region’s pool of skilled professionals will be a critical factor in fueling the business and non-profit sectors of our economy. The Asheville Graduate Center can provide opportunities to meet existing needs and serve as a resource for emerging economic sectors.”

The change in the Asheville Graduate Center’s administrative structure coincides with the upcoming retirement of Don Locke, a North Carolina State University professor of Adult and Community Education, who has also worked on the UNC Asheville campus for the past five years as the Asheville Graduate Center’s director.

Locke, who retires from NCSU this spring, will assist with the graduate center’s transition and will join UNC Asheville as director of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs in the Office of the Chancellor.

“We recognize and congratulate the success of the current Asheville Graduate Center director, Don Locke, in his leadership of the center and his distinguished career with North Carolina State University. Don is a highly regarded community leader and has a long and productive relationship with UNC Asheville. We welcome him in his new role on our campus,” said UNC Asheville Chancellor Jim Mullen.

Media Contact:

• Merianne Epstein, UNC Asheville Public Information Director, 828/251-6676